Historic Munger Place is known for a few things, one of them being that the neighborhood is the home of the largest intact collection of Prairie-influenced residences in North Texas. Another is that Munger Place likes to throw a good party. The East Dallas neighborhood consisting of just five streets has its annual Wine Walk and Tour of Homes, its eagerly anticipated 4th of July parade, its gorgeously appointed holiday affairs, and its porch parties. Living in a neighborhood filled with homes with porches like these, it’s easy to understand how this tradition developed.
The home at 5020 Junius Street is our Highlight Home of the Week, sponsored by Lisa Peters with First Horizon, and we’re excited to pull up a porch swing and stay awhile, because this one is a beauty.
Munger Place, developed by the old Munger family in 1905, lies adjacent to Junius Heights and just southwest of Swiss Avenue. Efforts to protect these homes began in the 1970s, culminating in Munger Place being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and the designation of the neighborhood as a Dallas Landmark District in 1988.
With three bedrooms and two and a half baths, 5020 Junius does not maintain the strict foursquare 8-room floorplan, but this home does have a wonderful old world charm with updates in all the right places. Interestingly, the American Fourquare was considered a modern update from its Prairie neighbors in their day: “The American Foursquare plan, which looks nostalgically quaint today, was in fact an attempt at modernity, incorporating elements of the Craftsman and Prairie styles and eschewing the applied ornament of the earlier Victorian and Revivalist styles,” said CandysDirt columnist Eric Prokesh.
The marvelous interiors are nowhere better showcased than this incredible dining room. Displayed here are the beautiful, richly stained maple inlaid floors, crafted in a unique pattern that you’ll see throughout the home.
You can picture the original owners, Dr. David L Bettison and his wife, Nina, for whom the home was custom built in 1913, dining and entertaining here. The many windows catch the fading light and circulate a nice breeze to cool the guests.
The living room again features that magnificent flooring, a wood-burning fireplace, built-in shelving, and intricate millwork. Nina Bettison was known for entertaining the women’s bridge club on Thursdays, and I envision the tables set up in this space, the ladies dressed to the nines enjoying petit fours and drinks while trading gossip and trumps.
The kitchen and breakfast nook is delightfully bright and airy, with soapstone countertops, stainless steel appliances, and ample cabinet space. Modern in all the right places, the style still blends seamlessly with the feel of this historic home.
The sunroom: perfect for a potting shed, a lovely sitting room or other flex space — what I actually see here is a rain room! This is where you take the porch party when it needs to move indoors!
You can see from the back view of the home that there is a screened in porch upstairs as well, just off a bedroom that’s currently being used as an office. The back porch is made for enjoying the view of the massive backyard and naturalistic landscaping.
The landscaping is pretty fascinating: listing agent Lori Ericsson with David Griffin & Co Real Estate said there are hundreds of varieties of native plantings. Naturalistic gardening, or ecological gardening, is a sustainable method of landscaping that requires less human intervention and more encouragement of the natural environment.
If you are looking for one of Dallas’ truly special places to call home, Munger Place fits the bill as a community that embraces its past as well as its thriving present. This wonderful American Foursquare deserves an owner who will treasure it and appreciate the unique neighborhood where it resides.
You can see the home for yourself at an Open House, Sunday, June 29, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Lori Ericsson with David Griffin & Company Real Estate has 5020 Junius Street listed for $820,000.
